Alaric Saltzman
Alaric "Ric" Saltzman is a history teacher at Mystic Falls High School and a vampire hunter. He originally came to Mystic Falls to find the vampire that killed his wife, but learned she voluntarily became a vampire and left him. He also learned that his wife had a daughter named Elena Gilbert, who is now his student and began a relationship with her adoptive aunt Jenna. Following Jenna's tragic death, he seems to start to act as a father figure to Elena and Jeremy. Ironically, he is technically Elena's stepfather due to Isobel. As a vampire hunter, he designed several weapons to fight vampires. This character is a relative of the Petrov Family. Early Life The Saltzmans are descendants of German immigrants who arrived in Texas in 1755. He was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He mentions to Jenna Sommers that during high school, he wore eyeglasses and had a skin condition. While attending Duke University, he met and married Isobel Flemming, a parapsychologist, who had an interest in vampires, a topic he would regularly tease her about. He said that she was "like Mulder, except hotter, and a girl." At some point, Isobel gave him a ring and told him to always wear it. One night he returned home late to find a vampire in his bedroom drinking Isobel's blood. Her body was never found and she was assumed to be dead. Alaric took over her research and found out about Mystic Falls and the rumors about vampires being alive in the town. He went there to find out the truth and discover what had happened to his wife. He also created a number of anti-vampire weapons so as to protect himself and others from them. Season One Alaric moved to Mystic Falls and took up the position of a history teacher after the death of the previous one, William Tanner. He found a file Mr. Tanner had for Jeremy Gilbert labeled the "jack-ass" file. Alaric gave Jeremy a clean start and decided to help him out with his grades by giving him an extra credit history report about any event that happened in Mystic Falls. Jenna Sommers, Elena and Jeremy's aunt and legal guardian, took an interest in Alaric and was okay that he talked about Isobel, feeling that he needed to let it all out. Alaric came across Logan Fell and staked him because he was a vampire. It was revealed that Alaric was a vampire hunter and had researched and studied them. He met up with Jenna who told him Elena, her niece, was researching her birth mother whose name was Isobel. Alaric didn't believe they were the same person until Jenna showed him a picture of Isobel who he recognized as his deceased wife. Shocked that she never told him, he left. He later told Jenna that he wasn't ready for Elena to ask him any questions about Isobel. He recognized Damon Salvatore as the vampire who "killed" Isobel at a party and confronted him. Damon taunted Alaric that the life he had with Isobel didn't seem to be enough for her, revealing that she begged him to turn her into a vampire before stabbing him in the lung with a stake. Stefan Salvatore, Damon's younger brother, was surprised that Damon had done this but was shocked that Alaric woke up alive. Alaric said it was the ring. Since finding out the truth, his relationship with Damon is less antagonistic. Alaric later helped Damon with escaped tomb vampires who kidnapped Stefan to torture then kill him. His job was to get inside the house and get Ms. Gibbons out of the house but was horrified when Damon killed her. The two fought and killed several vampires. Pearl, another escaped vampire and her daughter Anna arrived afterwards. The reason Alaric helped Damon was because Damon told Alaric that Pearl could help with finding Isobel. After finding out that Damon lied, Alaric punched him in the face. Isobel came to Mystic Falls and asked Alaric to give Elena a message to meet with her. Alaric, hurt and upset with Isobel, refused and left. Isobel caught him outside the Mystic Grill and him a firmer warning: to give the message to Elena or she would kill his students one by one. Alaric did as she asked and gave the message to Elena, Stefan and Damon. He met Isobel again and took off his ring and vervain to prove that he was not protecting himself from her. Isobel compelled him to move on and get over her, showing that she still cared about him. She gave him back him ring and left. After John Gilbert turned on the device, Stefan, Damon and Anna along with several other vampires were affected and when Stefan was spotted, Alaric sent a deputy to towards another vampire instead of Stefan, saving his life. Season Two Alaric went to the Salvatore Boarding House where he was questioned by Elena, Stefan and Damon on Isobel's research on the paranormal, hoping to figure out with species The Lockwoods were. Alaric said all Isobel's research were at Duke University. He spoke to Jenna while Elena packed for the trip. Jenna was happy he was spending time with Elena because of Isobel. Alaric apologized for not being around very often, but Jenna was used to that sort of talk and told him not to bother. Damon, Elena and Alaric met Vanessa Monroe who lead them to Isobel's study before trying to shoot Elena. Alaric grabbed her and forced the crossbow out of her hands before sitting her down in a chair. He is shown to be protective of her and her family. He questioned her and she admitted that she read Isobel's research and thought Katherine and Damon were dead. To get some info on Mason Lockwood Damon gets Alaric to convince Jenna to throw a barbecue. In episode Plan B Alaric goes to Damon with some of Isobel's research on Aztec legends and is shocked to see Jeremy Gilbert there. They discover that moonstones can break the werewolf curse. Later that evening Alaric is staying for super at the Gilberts when Elena gets a call from Katherine who made Jenna stab herself right in front of Alaric and Elena. They both rush over to her side. When Damon and Stefan are planing on killing Katherine, Alaric helped demonstrate to Jeremy how to kill a vampire with various tools and contraptions. Later he is at the Gilbert's house and protects Elena. Later on Alaric spends a lot more time at the Gilbert house, Elena even catches both him and Jenna half dressed in the middle of the night and Elena states to Jenna that she’s fine with Alaric staying around so much. In episode By the Light of the Moon, Alaric phones Damon saying Mason is now declared a ‘missing person’ and also tells him about Jules. A while later Damon meets Alaric at the Mystic Grill where they discuss if Jules is a werewolf or not, and how to prove it. They team up and while Damon distracts Jules, Alaric puts wolfsbane in her drink. Their attempt fails as Jules could smell the wolfsbane. When Stefan tries to find a way to get in touch with Isobel he goes to Alaric to ask if he has any way of contacting Isobel. When John Gilbert returned it cause a lot of problems between Alaric and Jenna. In episode Crying Wolf, Damon tells him his plan to kill Elijah. Later on during the episode both him and Damon were attacked by werewolves. Alaric was killed by Stevie by later came back to life thanks to his ring. He calls Jenna and apologizes for not meeting her. When Damon throws a dinner party, Alaric stops Damon from using the dagger against Elijah because it would kill him if he used it. While Andie Star questions Elijah, Alaric quickly stabs him in the chest from behind, who tells Damon to dispose of him, placing the dagger on the table. Later Alaric tells Damon he’s his friend, but doesn’t want any more lies between them. At the end of the episode Jenna demanded answers about Isobel but when he couldn't answer she left. John came in and threatened to tell Jenna about Isobel if he didn't get the Gilbert Ring. A day after breaking up with Jenna, Alaric told Elena and he revealed that he can't lie to her while he is with her. Elena admitted that it is getting more dangerous for Jenna, not to know what's really going on, but explained that she wanted to leave it until Klaus had been dealt with. Alaric promised to respect Elena's decision about whether or not to tell Jenna. He later met Jenna at the grill bar and admitted that he hated that she is upset. Jenna stated that she can handle anything he is hiding and left. Alaric walked Jenna home and told her that Isobel is dead, and adds that he loves Jenna. When Isobel later showed up in town she had a talk with her husband in which she revealed that she compelled him to move on and then Alaric is kidnapped by Maddox and used by Klaus as a medium to speak to Katherine. In the next few days Klaus used Alaric to get info on the group by discovering that Bonnie is a super powered witch. He told Jenna about vampires, and since the full moon was coming Klaus got Greta Martin and Maddox to perform a spell that returned Klaus back to his body thus freeing Alaric. In the episode The Last Day, Alaric goes to the Salvatore Boarding House to give everyone a message that the sacrifice happens tonight, and Jenna points a crossbow at him. He states that he is not Klaus by telling her about his first night with Jenna. Alaric admits that he doesn't remember anything that happened in the last few days. Later when Stefan and Damon are fighting, Alaric and Jenna walk in. He tells Jenna to get Stefan some blood bags down from the cellar. After Stefan recovers Alaric apologizes for not confiding in Jenna earlier, explaining that he should have known she could handle it. Jenna admits that she doesn't know if she can. She says she is glad he is ok, and they kiss. He later helps Damon by inviting him in his house so Damon can get info from Katherine on where Klaus's werewolf and vampire is. In the episode The Sun Also Rises, Alaric, Stefan, and Elijah arrived at the place where Bonnie is and talked about the plan. Later Alaric tells Damon that Stefan is going to offer himself and Damon is furious. Alaric notices that something is wrong but Damon claims that he is fine. When everyone was leaving the house Alaric couldn't because Bonnie put up a barrier so that he couldn't leave. When Damon returned he said that Jenna had died. Alaric attended Jenna's funeral and lay a rose on her grave. In As I Lay Dying, he is seen first drinking in a bar obviously still grieving Jenna. Later he helps the other look for Damon after he escapes the boarding house while sick by a werewolf bite. After Jeremy is accidentally shot by Sheriff Forbes he carries him for Bonnie so she can revive him. She does and later that night he crashes in the Gilbert home to look after him. This implies he has decide to take a more active role in Jeremy's and Elena's lives. Season Three In The Birthday Alaric has set in as a guardian for Elena and Jeremy for the two months following Jenna's death but he still refuses to sleep in the room that had once belonged to Jenna and stays on the couch. When Damon gets a lead that Klaus and Stefan are in Tennessee, he and Alaric go to find him. They find a house where two women were killed by Stefan and ripped apart. They also discover that Klaus and Stefan have been hunting a werewolf. Alaric then decides to move out of the Gilbert house because he doesn't believe that he can be a good role model for Jeremy due to his messed up life outside of his work. He also says that he doesn't want to have anything to do with the vampire world anymore. When Elena tries to find Stefan without Damon's help, she goes to Alaric who, after some convincing, tells her that Klaus is hunting werewolves. After asking help from Tyler, Elena convinces Alaric to help her find the pack in the Smoky Mountains even though it will be a full moon that night. Alaric and Elena set off and Elena offers his ring back to Alaric saying that she would feel bad if he died because of her. Although he says he won't keep it, he takes it. At that moment, Damon arrives having been warned by Alaric as to Elena's plan. Although disapproving, they keep going. That is when they fall on Ray Sutton, a werewolf that Klaus had turned into a hybrid but he had gone rabid for an unknown reason. Damon, Alaric and Elena manage to neutralize Ray by using Damon's strength, wooden stakes and wolfsbane grenades. They then tie him up but Ray starts to turn into a wolf although the moon isn't up yet. The three run but Elena trips and rises to find the wolf in front of her. Damon goads it into following him while Alaric and Elena go back to the car. There, Elena convinces Alaric that he shouldn't give up just because he feels lost. He then says that he will be keeping the ring, telling Elena that he will be sticking around. At the end of the episode, he is seen moving back into the Gilbert house. In Disturbing Behavior, Elena and Damon are getting closer, despite Alaric's warning Damon to stay away.Later Alaric and Elena try to stop Damon from going after Bill Forbes but Alaric is soon afterwards killed by Damon. The next morning Alaric comes Back to life and is greeted by Damon with a drink however Alaric is not happy with Damon for killing him and gets up and leaves In Smells Like Teen Spirit, Alaric is seen training Elena how to kill vampires in the woods. Later Alaric tries to help Elena from Stefan , but Stefan warns him not to get in his way.Elena tells Alaric how she’s one of Klaus’ assets now be cause of her blood and Stefan is sort of her bodyguard, she guesses. Later at night in rick classroom, discussing the plan. After Elena gets drunk and distracts Stefan long enough for Alaric to shoot him with a wooding stake. While in Alaric car Vicki sets it on fire to try to Kill Elena Alaric outside trying to free her. Stefan the kicks the door Alaric and Elena pull Stefan to safety. Back at the Salvatore house Elena asks Ric wants to rekindle his bromance with Damon. Ric’s not too enthused. In Ghost World, Damon goes to Alaric and tells him about Mason Lockwood ghost however Alaric still mad at Damon for killing doesn't want to help but until they both see Mason appear. Later Damon need Alaric to enter a cave in which he cant enter at first Alaric doesn't what to help after Damon tries to apologize in his way, Alaric and Damon finally friendship is renewed. In Ordinary People, Alaric and Elena are in the cave and discover alot of drawing and words in Viking script. He translates the writings on the wall and concludes that they are viking script of the Original Family and their history. He finds a symbol for the Original Witch and the story of her death, as well as the Hybrid curse. He also finds the names of Klaus and Rebekah written on the wall. He takes photos of the cave wall and eventually is able to translate them completely. Personality Alaric is a very caring person. He cared for Jenna and his wife Isobel. He is just starting to trust and care for Elena, Damon and Stefan. In spite of the difficult times that has happened, Alaric always proves to be a man protective and loyal to his friends and allies. This is demonstrated in As I Lay Dying (After the death of Jenna, Alaric fall into depression but returns to normal upon hearing the inevitable fate of Damon) and Hybrid (He helps Elena to find Stefan but it also says Damon). Physical Appearance Longish sandy blonde hair, and hazel eyes. He has a boyish smile and an inquisitive nature. Relationships 'Damon Salvatore' : Main article: Alaric and Damon Once Alaric found out who was, the one who killed his wife, Isobel, he wanted to kill him. He knew for a while and was confronted by Damon, who was trying to compel him, but he had a fist full of vervain, so it didn't work. While at a Fundraiser, Damon hints that he killed his wife, and afterwards Alaric tries to stake him at the Salvatore Boarding House. Damon killed him, but Alaric has a special ring that kept him alive. Alaric was later asked help by Damon and to help save . Since then, they seem after finding out the truth, Alaric and Damon are less antagonistic towards each other and have show what could be something of a friendship. Alaric and Damon also both went to the house in Grove Hill, Virginia where they thought Isobel was staying at, but they ended up finding a tomb vampire, Henry, who was getting help by John. They killed him shortly afterwards. In Season Two they will both go to Alaric's former college, Duke University, to find out more information on the werewolves. Later on, they try to extract information from Jules together and also have a drink together in Crying Wolf. They plotted together to kill Elijah and Alaric saved Damon's life from John Gilbert's trap. He also proclaimed later on that he was his friend and that Damon didn't have any friends so he should stop lying to him. thumb|220px|left In As I Lay Dying, Alaric proves that he values his friendship with Damon when Stefan calls him and tells him that that Damon is dying. He tells Stefan that he'll do anything. He later goes to the Salvatore Boarding House and he brings Damon some alcohol to cheer him up. Damon tries to goad Alaric into killing him y saying that it was his fault that he had lost both women he loved: he had caused Jenna's death and he had turned Isobel into a vampire. Alaric says that he doesn't blame Damon and even when Damon attacks him and begs him to kill him, he refuses and stabs him with a vervain syringe. He later tries to save Damon from Sheriff Forbes when she comes to the boarding house to kill him. 'Jenna Sommers' : Main article: Jenna and Alaric Jenna used to date Logan Fell, who was turned into a vampire by Anna, but then later killed by Alaric Saltzman. She begins a relationship with Alaric, Elena and Jeremy's history teacher. She is physically attracted to Damon, despite disliking his behavior. She also went to high school with Mason Lockwood, Tyler's uncle. Before she became Elena and Jeremy's guardian, Jenna was a party girl especially back in high school, which Mason revealed when he visited. Katherine compels Jenna and has her spy on Stefan and Elena then has her stab herself in her stomach while Elena and Alaric watch. At the hospital, the doctors say she's lucky to be alive. This may be just a scheme of Katherine to scare Elena, as she could have compelled Jenna to specifically stab her self in order just to bleed, but not die. Alaric and Jenna grew closer and closer over time and their relationship grew strong enough that Alaric started to spend most of his nights at the Gilbert house. However, when John Gilbert returned to Mystic Falls, he blackmailed Alaric into returning his ring to him unless he wanted him to reveal to Jenna that Isobel was still alive and that Alaric was lying to her. Due to John's manipulations and Alaric's evasion when asked questions about her, Alaric and Jenna split up. However, Alaric still had strong feelings for her and revealed this to her claiming that Isobel was dead and that they're were things about her death that she was better off not knowing but that he loved Jenna and not Isobel. Later that night, Isobel returned to Mystic Falls, destroying Alaric's credibility in Jenna's eyes who left the Gilbert house to go live on campus. Jenna later returned when Klaus who had taken over Alaric's body invited her over and revealed to her the story of the vampires. This led to Alaric and Jenna's relationship to rebuild itself over the fact that they no longer have to keep secrets. However, Jenna was captured and turned into a vampire by Klaus as part of the ritual. She was killed despite Stefan's attempts to save her. Alaric was hit very hard by Jenna's death and lay a rose on her grave during hers and John's funeral. He was seen in the last episode drinking away his sorrow and was shown to be somewhat angry at Stefan for not having allowed him to come save Jenna. However, with Jenna's death, he seems to want to take a more active part in the lives of Elena and Jeremy, who had both lost their guardians, when he says that he will stay at the Gilbert house after Jeremy returned from the dead so as to make sure that he'll be alright. 'Elena Gilbert' During the first season, Elena learns a good deal about her past. Her birth parents are her uncle, John Gilbert, and his high-school girlfriend Isobel Flemming. After Elena was born, Isobel married Alaric Saltzman, as well as asking Damon to turn her into a vampire (which he did). Alaric helps Elena and Damon rescue Stefan and also helps prevent Stefan being carried by Deputies to the basement where they burned the vampires of the Tomb. In the second season, Alaric helps Elena, Stefan and Damon to get information from Isobel at Duke University to find out if there are werewolves in Mystic Falls. Alaric protects and watches Elena during the Masquerade Ball event. Alaric gives Stefan and Damon weapons when they go to rescue Elena. 'Isobel Saltzman' Elena's birth mother and a descendant of Katherine. She is a vampire who was turned by Damon at her own request, and claims to be a messenger from Katherine. She is married to Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher at the high school, but left him when she became a vampire. She dated John Gilbert, Elena's biological father, in high school. Although Isobel tells Elena not to look for any redeeming qualities in her, she regrets that Elena has been drawn in to the supernatural world and that Elena is involved with both Salvatore brothers. Because of her desire to keep Elena from staying involved with the Salvatore brothers, she tells John Gilbert to insure both Stefan and Damon are killed along with the tomb vampires and she agrees with John that this isn't the life they want for their daughter. Before she leaves Mystic Falls, she confronts Alaric, telling him she regrets her decision to become a vampire. Isobel than compels him to move on from her. She returns in season two allegedly to help protect Elena from Klaus but she really was compelled by him to kidnap Alaric to use him as a host. In they final conversation she apologizes for everything she put him through and that she will always love him just before she was forced to let Maddox kidnapp him for Klaus. Isobel was also responsible for breaking up Alaric and Jenna as she said to Katherine. It was she who asked John to poison their relationship about the truth surrounding her death. John, who wanted his ring back since Alaric had it, agreed using this to blackmail Alaric out of his ring. She later commits suicide. Appearances Season 1 *''History Repeating'' (character's first appearance and also his first appearance as a recurring character) *''The Turning Point'' *''Bloodlines'' *''Unpleasantville'' *''Children of the Damned'' (last appearance as a recurring character) *''A Few Good Men'' (first appearance as a main character) *''Let The Right One In'' *''Under Control'' *''Miss Mystic Falls'' *''Blood Brothers'' *''Isobel'' *''Founder's Day'' Season 2 ' *Bad Moon Rising'' *''Memory Lane'' *''Plan B'' *''Masquerade'' *''Rose'' (mentioned twice) *''The Sacrifice'' *''By The Light of the Moon'' *''The Descent'' *''Daddy Issues'' *''Crying Wolf'' *''The Dinner Party'' *''The House Guest'' *''Know Thy Enemy'' (becomes possesed by Klaus in this episode) *''The Last Dance'' (possesed by Klaus) *''Klaus'' (des-possesed by Klaus in this episode) *''The Last Day'' *''The Sun Also Rises'' *''As I Lay Dying'' '''Season 3 *''The Birthday'' *''The Hybrid'' *''Disturbing Behavior'' *''Smells Like Teen Spirit'' *''Ghost World'' *''Ordinary People'' *''The New Deal'' Trivia * Kevin Williamson originally wanted James Van Der Beek for the role of "Alaric". The two previously worked together for the firs two seasons of "Dawson's Creek". * In the books his name was Alaric K. Saltzman. In the series "K" is not mentioned. * In the books Alaric was much younger and was a researcher instead of a vampire hunter. He also had a relationship with Meredith Sulez and was never married or met Elena's aunt. * He is the only non-Gilbert to be shown to use the Gilbert Ring. * He had relationships with two women (Isobel and Jenna) who were both turned into vampires and died. * Ironically, in the series, Alaric is a vampire hunter but in the books, Meredith says she is a vampire hunter. * Like Jeremy Gilbert, he has been killed once by Damon Salvatore * Alaric is the first character to use a dagger on screen. * Alaric has died in every season so far. ** Season 1: A Few Good Men ** Season 2: Crying Wolf ** Season 3: Disturbing Behavior Episode Count * He didn't appear in the first 8 episodes and Fool Me Once, There Goes the Neighborhood, The Return, Brave New World, Kill or Be Killed, Katerina, The End of the Affair ''and Homecoming''.http://vampirediaries.wikia.com/wiki/The_End_of_the_Affair Category:Vampire Diaries Characters Category:Humans Category:Main Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Secret-Keepers Category:Mystic Falls Residents Category:Featured Articles Category:Male Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Individuals who have been Revived Category:Killed by Damon Category:Vampire Hunters Category:Petrov Family Category:Snapped Neck Category:Founder's Council Members Category:Teacher Category:Ring Category:Revived By Ring Category:Alive